Thanks for all the feedback. In re-reading my own post, I didn't strike quite the intended tone with the opening comments on not having received responses to earlier posts, and certainly did not mean to infer disrespect or the like.

I continue to work on learning the features of the 950; its a big step up in terms of complexity compared with my stereo-only pre-amp. With that set-up, I used a simple method from North Creek Music for filtering out low frequencies (at about 80 hertz) and sending them to a sub-woofer. Local Radio Shack is out of stock of their SPL meter, so I am currently setting levels strictly by ear and look forward to setting them objectively (it will also be interesting to see how close I was or wasn't, by ear alone).

The points on SACD are very interesting. In fact, I wonder if there should be a dedicated thread. Probably like many of you, I drop by one of the several high-end audiophile stores around here (Northern Virginia) periodically just to see what's new and to listen to the difference that a $100,000 sound system can make. I've heard a couple of marvelous SACDs and some truly awful ones. There obviously is a learning curve for the recording studios to go through, as with CDs in the early years. I haven't jumped into SACD yet for the following reasons:

(1) Am I correct in understanding that SACD is currently still mired in one of those stupid corporate battles over format (will they ever learn?)?
(2) Seems to be very little available that has been SACD-recorded - and seems to me that, unlike the CD, there is little or no ability to bring prior masters up to SACD by re-recording.
(3) And therefore, based on (1) and (2), I'm going to wait (a year? maybe 2?) for formats to be more nearly resolved, for the library to grow, and for prices to come down (cheapest unit I know of now is a Sony that is still about $900 - does anybody know differently?).

Regarding my preferences in music playback format, I truly believe that people (such as my son) who more or less grow up with the surround sound will come to prefer or even expect it for their music. For myself, I am an old fogey. Nearly all of the live performances I attend have the music coming strictly from the general area of the sound stage and for me, a traditional stereo set-up best re-creates this experience. I remain open to, but not yet convinced by, the SACD format.

Readers should bear in mind that much of my music listening is still on vinyl. I have always taken immaculate care of my vinyl, had a high-quality record player when due to economics it was the only quality component in my system. My better vinyl recordings, especially my small stock of treasured direct-to-disc, have a much more "live" sound than my best CDs because (in my opinion) the physics of the needle-based reproduction mean that the harmonics are fully captured. Although always tighter and more "accurate", the CDs still sound lifeless against a quality vinyl version of the same recording.